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Clark Bryan

Claude Debussy is considered the most influential composer of the 20th and 21st centuries. He was born in 1862 and studied with one of Chopin’s students. His early works reflect these studies and are neo-romantic in flavour. Debussy died in 1918, the year that marked the end of the first global conflict.

Works on this program span his early period to the Great War period. Many of the works on this program are little-known to the public and even many musicians.

The most famous collection of pieces on this program is the Children’s Corner. This suite of charming pieces was composed in 1908 for Debussy’s daughter Claude-Emma known as “Chou-Chou”. They evoke childhood and some of the toys in Claude-Emma’s toy collection.

Another interesting collection is a suite of six pieces originally for piano duo composed in 1914 entitled Six épigraphes antiques. Over 100 measures of music from these works is taken from the musical accompaniments Debussy wrote for his friend Pierre Louÿs erotic lesbian poems “Les Chansons de Bilitis”. Debussy transcribed these works for piano solo in 1915. The inspiration for these works is extremely exotic. Ancient gods and rituals are woven into their fabric. Titles such as “To invoke Pan, god of the summer wind” and “For the Egyptian woman” elude to this exoticism.

The performance will include multi-media images and descriptions to help entice you into the mystery of each work played.

As an award-winning concert pianist, Clark Bryan has performed internationally, recorded 14 CD’s and has been featured on radio and television. As a teacher, Mr. Bryan has taught thousands of students, adjudicated more than 60 music festivals coast to coast in Canada, given dozens of workshops and written a book “Gateways to Learning and Memory”.

The founder of The Aeolian Performing Arts Centre, Clark believes that everyone should have universal access to music, art and culture. Because of this belief, he launched El Sistema Aeolian in 2011. This free, intensive music program has offered hundreds of children and youth an opportunity to experience the joy of a rich musical experience. In 2016, Mr. Bryan secured Bishop Cronyn Memorial Place, a second facility to develop an education centre. Shortly after securing this facility, he co-founded two new programs. Pride Men’s Chorus London is a choir open to men of all backgrounds and identities. Rebelheart Collective is a conductor-less chamber orchestra that offers mentorship to young apprentices and offers free tickets to every concert.

Mr. Bryan is engaged in community activism and speaks regularly at events, on radio and television and has given a TEDx talk about the power and joy of music study.

He has been awarded Musical Personality of the Year (2005), Jack Richardson Award for Community Contribution (2011). In 2017, Mr. Bryan was awarded the Western Alumni Award of Merit and inducted into the Don Wright Faculty of Music Wall of Fame.

Mr. Bryan looks forward to a future when everyone has access to the arts and he is committed to making the changes necessary to accomplish this!